NEWS LETTER: APRIL 2010

Developments:

* Last month we received four new pledges of monthly financial support that put us at 43% of our budget, but after adding the one-time donations for this month we received 65% of our budget which is 100% of our “survival mode” budget—our Lord is faithful..!

* On March 13^th we attended Gracia Calvary Chapel’s 15-year anniversary with Pastor Lucho Garcia. Gracia is the first Calvary Chapel of Peru.

* On March 14^th we had our first baptisms in Peru where I led the study and helped Pastor Javier perform the baptisms in a pool in Lurin. I had the pleasure of baptizing my sister-in-law, Maria Monica.

* We started our first Sunday service on March 21^st. As of today I’ve been preaching/teaching at the church for the last three Sundays/Wednesdays.

* I’m not one to go by numbers but I couldn’t help to notice that church attendance on Sundays has been around 35 adults and 5 kids—up from about 18 adults the previous weeks.

* We had our first profession of faith! On March 24^th Karla led a young woman to the Lord after the mid-week prayer meeting at the church.

* We had the privilege of spending Easter weekend with Pastor Lucho and his wife Nori in a house in Asia—a very nice vacation area close to Lima. We got refreshed and connected, as well as, received very helpful and practical ministry tips. Thank you Pastor Lucho and Nori!

* On April 6^th I got my “Peruvian Green Card.” Now I’m officially staying in Peru… I had no need to leave the country.

* My Senior Pastor, Steve Turner, from Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale—Plantation Campus will be visiting us along with a missionary medical team arriving on April 10^th. Pastor Steve will be blessing us with Sunday and Wednesday teachings in Miraflores and the team will be ministering in Lurin until April 18^th.

* We’ve been honored with an invitation to a three-day retreat for Senior Pastors and wives of all the Calvary Chapels of Peru from April 15^th to 17^th. We feel way out of our league but blessed and thankful for the opportunity to refresh our marriage and connect with the rest of the Calvary Chapels in Peru.

* We’re still in nomadic mode but aiming to move into our rented apartment around April 20^th; we’re really looking forward to this!

* We’re making the arrangements to ship a small container with most of our house and ministry belongings sometime in May—all earlier dates were taken.

Prayer Needs:

* For the will of God to be done and His kingdom to be further established in our lives.

* Please keep our marriage in your prayers—it’s been under heavy-duty attack since we arrived in the mission field.

* For our kids to continue to grow in their desire to know God in all His splendor.

* For our devotional lives to grow stronger and that we would plunge deeper into God’s love.

* To continue to find favor with the congregation of Miraflores for a graceful transition as we assume the leadership of the church.

* For wisdom in the many decisions we need to make in the coming month.

* That nothing in us would hinder the work that God is doing in our hearts in this season of abasement.

* For the items mentions above in the Developments area.

* For our monthly financial support to go from 43% to 65% of our budget. 65% is what we need to make it in “survival mode…”

Thank you for holding us up through your love and faithful work of intercession..!

In His love,

Andres and Karla, Sebastian, Daniel, and Samuel—the Garcia’s.

PS: Make sure to check out the new pictures of our recent activities to your left...

NEWS LETTER: MARCH 2010

Developments:

* We are in the other side of the river… All glory to God, we made it to Peru!

* The enemy didn’t waste time to attack us. The first day was brutal for me, but thanks to your prayers it’s gotten better every day.

* Last month we received one new pledge of monthly financial support that put us at 40% of our budget; we also have a total of six open pledges. Through one-time donations and monthly supporters that started contributing before departure day we are at 100%! of our projected moving expenses—praise the Lord!

* I was interviewed by Bob and Anitra from the Reach FM Morning Show where I had an opportunity to expose our ministry and to ask for prayer on a state-wide Christian radio broadcast.

* Karla and I finally visited Pastor Chet at his house in the Bahamas for fellowship and training. We receive very pertinent ministry tips from Pastor Chet and his wife Andrea. Thank you Pastor Chet and Andrea for your love and support..!

* After coming back from the Bahamas, Pastor Chet and Pastor Bob presented and prayed us off from the pulpit of CC Ft Lauderdale on the Wednesday night service. ‘Thank You Lord for validating our calling through the laying on of hands of our Senior Pastor!

* We visited Pastor Carlos Aviles’ Horizon Calvary Chapel of Clermont, FL to share the vision for our ministry with the congregation. The Aviles family and the congregation received us with the love of Christ and blessed and encouraged us immensely.

* Our friends from the Plantation Campus blessed us with a surprise farewell party at the Garage with all our friends from all campuses. Thank you to all involved in this event for it hugely blessed our hearts!!

* The Sunday before we left, Pastor Steve and the elders at Plantation, our home church campus, laid hands and prayed us off from the altar.

* Since we arrived in Peru on the morning of March 4^th we have accomplished a lot. Today we have only one week in Peru and we already bought a car from a sister in the Lord (a divine appointment), opened bank accounts, did all the errands pertaining my Peruvian green card (this is a big one), the kids started homeschool, got cell phones, and found a place to live where we’ll move-in in a month.

* Ministry-wise, we met with Pastor Javier Barrionuevo, our Senior Pastor in Peru, and I’m scheduled to start preaching in Miraflores on both Sunday and Wednesday services the 21^st and the 24^th, respectively. I’m also doing baptisms in Lurin this Sunday 14^th and substituting Pastor Javier on a Nehemiah class that he is scheduled to teach at the Bible College on Friday 19^th.

Prayer Needs:

* For the will of God to be done and His kingdom to be further established in our lives.

* For wisdom and clarity in our decision making.

* To find favor with the congregation of Miraflores for a graceful transition as we assume the leadership of the church.

* For our devotional lives to grow stronger and that we would plunge deeper into God’s love.

* That nothing in us would hinder the work that God is doing in our hearts in this season of abasement.

* For protection on our marriage and our children.

* For the Lord to give Karla a heart for the children’s ministry in the church--this is not her strongest gift.

* For Karla to learn to drive in the streets of Lima.

* For the items mentions above in the Developments area.

* For our monthly financial support to go from 40% to 65% of our budget so we could adequately minister the Word of God to the middle-class in Lima—the main reason we came to Peru!

Special Note:

After prayer and fasting we sense it unwise for me to start looking for a secular job at this time. With all the settling activities in the area of family and ministry if I were to add a regular job to the equation it would leave very little time for ministry—the main reason we’re here in Peru..!

For this reason we are slashing the original budget and going into “survival mode”. We figure that if we cram the family into a small two bedroom apartment, live on grains and vegetables, and give up provision for next year’s homeschooling curriculum, extra-curriculum activities, and entertainment we could survive on 65% of the original budget.

This would leave us with only 25% of the budget to make up for with any supernatural provision that God would come up with… This is why we are asking for your fervent prayers in this regard.

Thank you for holding us up through your love and faithful work of intercession..!

In His love,

Andres and Karla, Sebastian, Daniel, and Samuel—the Garcia’s.

PS: Make sure to check out the new pictures of our recent activities to your left...

NEWS LETTER: FEBRUARY 2010

Developments:

* We are moving to Peru on March 3^rd! Pastor Chet gave the go ahead and a friend from church donated the plane tickets. All glory to God!

* I gave my four-week notice at work; my last day at MetroPCS is March 2^nd..!

* We received four new pledges of monthly financial support that put us at 38% of our budget. Through very generous one-time donations and monthly supporters that started contributing we are at 92% of our projected moving expenses. We also received two new, for a total of six, open pledges—people who formally let us know they intend to support us financially but don’t know the dollar amount yet.

* Our friends from Calvary Ft. Lauderdale in the Main Campus organized a very fruitful Love Offering Party to raise awareness and support for our ministry at the Alegre’s house—thank you Juan and Sandra!

* I had a one-on-one wedding training session with Pastor John Chinelly. With this, all the goals on my accelerated pastoral training track have been met.

* We had a very busy month visiting churches to promote our ministry. We were given the opportunity to set up our booth at the Calvary Chapel Southeast Pastor’s Conference in Merritt Island and at Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale in the Main Campus, the Florida Keys Campus, and the Boca Raton Campus.

* Pastor Victoriano Batista invited us to set up our booth and promote our ministry at the Calvary Chapel Aventura’s Block Party on 2/13.

* We are schedule to have our booth to raise support at the Plantation Campus on 2/13 and 2/14.

* Anitra from the Reach FM Morning Show invited us for a live interview in her radio program to promote our ministry. I am scheduled to be on-air with her on 2/15 at 7:40 am. You could listen live at www.reachfm.org.

* Karla and I are schedule to visit Pastor Chet at his house in the Bahamas for fellowship and training from 2/15 to 2/16.

* Pastor Carlos Aviles invited us to share the vision for our ministry with his congregation at Horizon Calvary Chapel of Clermont, FL on 2/21.

* On 2/28, the Sunday before we leave, Pastor Steve is going to lay hands and pray us off from the altar at the 11:00 am service in our home church, Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale – Plantation Campus.!!

Prayer Needs:

* For the will of God to be done and His kingdom to be further established in our lives.

* That we would have the grace to cast all our anxieties upon the Lord and leave them there with Him.

* That Christ would be glorified in our lives.

* For our devotional lives to grow stronger and that we would plunge deeper into God’s love.

* For protection on our marriage and our children.

* For all the items mentions above in the Developments area.

* For one-time donations toward our moving expenses.

* For monthly financial and prayer support for our ministry.

* For a part-time job in Peru to make up for the deficit in our budget.

Special Note:

Some of you may be wondering how are we going to leave to the mission field with our financial support at only 38% of our budget?!

The truth is that, being married to a Peruvian citizen, I have the option to work in a secular job in Peru. When we consider the pros and cons of the options we see that there are benefits in both working and not working in a secular job while in the mission field. In one hand, working a secular job is an excellent evangelistic tool, especially when trying to reach the middle-class. In the other hand, the need for full-time ministers in Latin America is great due to the fact that most pastors find themselves in need to work secular jobs to make ends meet because of the church being weak in tithing…

We are basically letting God guide us toward His will based on the amount of financial support He raises by the time we get to Peru. If God raises 100% of our budget we’ll take it He wants me full-time in the ministry. If God raises less than 30% of our budget we’ll take it He wants me to work full-time in a secular job and do ministry in my time off. Lastly, if God raises between 30% and 100% of our budget, we’ll take it He wants me to work part-time both in a secular job and in the ministry.

As it stands today, with our financial support level around 40%, it looks like the Lord is willing for me to work part-time between a secular job and the ministry, at least for a season.

This is why we are asking for your fervent prayers in this regard.

Thank you for your love and faithful work of intersession..!

In His love,

Andres and Karla, Sebastian, Daniel, and Samuel—the Garcia’s.

PS: Make sure to check out the new pictures of our recent activities to your left...

NEWS LETTER: JANUARY 2010

Developments:

* We are now ready to go… Praise the Lord! In less than a week He sold our two cars, rented our house, moved all our belongings to a storage place, and provided several interim accommodation options for our family. We are now staying with the Monteith’s in Plantation, ten minutes away from church and fifteen minutes away from work!

* Through very generous one-time donations and monthly supporters that started contributing we are now at 50% of our projected moving expenses. Our monthly financial support remains at 17% of our budget.

* Last month I attended one more wedding and one more funeral. The goal of auditing 3 weddings and 3 funerals for my pastoral training track has been met. This month I’ll be meeting with Pastor John Chinelly for a one-on-one wedding training session.

* Our friends from the Calvary Ft. Lauderdale Campus are organizing a Love Offering Party to raise awareness and support for our ministry on 1/15/10.

* We are scheduled to have our booth at the Calvary Chapel Southeast Pastor’s Conference in Merritt Island from 1/18/10 to 1/20/10.

* We are scheduled to have our booth at Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale on 1/23/10 and 1/24/10.

* We are expecting to visit Pastor Chet at his house in the Bahamas for fellowship and training sometime in late January or early February.

Prayer Needs:

* For the will of God to be done and His kingdom to be further established in our lives.

* For wisdom in regard to the logistics of our move to Peru.

* For our devotional lives to remain strong now that we are out of our normal routine.

* For protection on our marriage and family life.

* For all the items mentions above in the Development area.

* For one-time donations toward our moving expenses.

* For monthly financial and prayer support for our ministry.

Thank you for your faithful work of intercession..!

In His love,

Andres and Karla, Sebastian, Daniel, and Samuel—the Garcia’s.

PS: Make sure to check out the new pictures of our recent activities to your left...

NEWS LETTER: DECEMBER 2009

Developments:

* Praise the Lord! We received four new pledges of monthly financial support that put us at 17% of our budget. Through one-time donations and monthly supporters that started contributing we are at 25% of our projected moving expenses. We also received three new open pledges, people who formally let us know they intend to support us financially but don’t know the dollar amount yet.

* This month I attended one more funeral and one more wedding. I’m now 2 out of 3 weddings and 2 out of 3 funerals in my pastoral training track. I also had a one-on-one funeral training session with Pastor John Chinelly. He and I are meeting again in January for a one-on-one wedding training session. This is a great blessing since Pastor John has a wealth of ministry experience—thank you Pastor John!

* Our sister in Christ, Kim Fernandez, organized and hosted a Mary Kay party where all the proceeds will go towards our moving fund. Thank you Kim!

* This month we had our booth giving exposure to our ministry at the Spanish Ministries – Calvary Chapel Southeast Pastor’s Conference in Aventura. We had the privilege to make acquaintances with some of the key leaders of the Calvary Chapel Spanish Ministries here in Miami and in California.

* Our trip to visit Pastor Chet at his house in the Bahamas for fellowship and training was postponed to sometime in January.

* Our friends from the Calvary Ft. Lauderdale Campus are organizing a Love Offering Dinner Party to raise awareness and support for our ministry on 1/15/10.

* We are scheduled to have our booth at the Calvary Chapel Southeast Pastor’s Conference in Merritt Island from 1/18/10 to 1/20/10.

* We are schedule to have our booth at Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale on 1/23/10 and 1/24/10.

Special Announcements:

1. We are selling our cars. If you’re interested or know someone that’s interested, please, let us know. These are the specifics:

* 2007 Honda Civic EX Coupe 2D. 30,000 miles. Gray. $14,500.

* 2003 Dodge Caravan SE Minivan 4D. 130,000 miles. Silver. $3,500.

2. We anticipate having a gap between the time we have to move out of our house and the time we leave to Peru. Please let us know if you can help with our accommodations during that time.

Prayer Needs:

* For the will of God to be done and His kingdom to be further established in our lives.

* For wisdom in regard to the logistics of our move to Peru.

* For God to sell or rent our house.

* For all the items mentions above in the Development and Special Announcements area.

* For one-time donations toward our moving expenses.

* For monthly financial and prayer support for our ministry.

Thank you for your faithful work of intercession..!

In His love,

Andres and Karla, Sebastian, Daniel, and Samuel—the Garcia’s.

PS: Make sure to check out the new pictures of our recent activities to your left...